


everything i know

by movements



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Makeup, No Incest, ben and klaus are besties okay, i added another chapter bc idk, no beta we die like ben, supportive Ben Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-13 02:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20574623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movements/pseuds/movements
Summary: ‘Makeup?’ Ben asked.Klaus bit at his lip. ‘Yeah.’Ben eyed him curiously, before smiling. ‘It’s pretty.’Klaus held himself like that for a few more moments, like any moment it might all fall apart and shatter. But Ben just returned to his book, feet tucked cross legged next to him. No screaming. No judgement. Just Ben.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> some random wholesome brotherly bonding with ben and klaus
> 
> they’re probably like 15 here

‘What are you doing in there?’

Klaus flickered his eyes upwards, turning his gaze to meet the unexpected voice. Ben stood in the doorway, arms crossed, with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. 

‘Nothing to concern  _ you _ , Benny.’ Klaus sung, eyes returning to his task, hands clambering to gather the pile of stolen items sitting between his legs. He shifted his body slightly, unintentionally blocking Ben’s line of sight.

Ben snorted. ‘If you’re looking for drugs, you won’t find them in Allison’s room.’ He nagged, and frankly, Klaus thought he sounded like a bit of a smartass. 

‘Shut it,  _ Ben _ .’ Klaus mumbled. His eyes were still turned away from him, and he couldn't tell if he’d left or not. Tentatively, he returned to gathering a few more supplies. His fingers clutched at a pile of fabric that had been discarded on the floor.

He nearly flinched when he finally turned back towards the door, Ben  _ still _ standing there, staring at him blankly. He was too goddamn nosy, and Klaus was starting to get annoyed by his control-freak tendencies. Even worse, Ben only acted like this with  _ him _ .  _ Go mother someone else. _

‘What’s all that?’ Ben’s head tilted upwards, then a little to the side, eyes raised to try and identify the objects pressed to Klaus’ chest. 

Klaus hurried down the hallway, and he could hear Ben’s footsteps trailing slower behind him.

‘It’s none of your business, Ben! Now go away _ . _ ’ He gave a sweet smile, before promptly shutting the door to his room.

He clambered onto his sheets, feeling like he was a bit of an asshole to Ben. He’d only been curious, but this was Klaus’  _ me-time _ (only occasionally shared with Allison.) Klaus pushed down the nagging thought that maybe he was scared of judgement from Ben, if he let him in. To let him see what he had. 

His arms released the contraband, letting them fall and roll onto his bed.

His fingers fluttered over the little containers, unsure where to start. Allison was the one who usually started, who instructed him where which thing went, showed him how to apply and blend and the other complexities with cosmetics. 

Allison was gone though. On some mission that only required her and Diego and Luther. Klaus  _ certainly _ wasn’t complaining. More time to practice.

He clutched a little black tube, quickly identifying it as mascara. This stuff was easy, he knew that. A shaky hand trembled up to his lashes, positioning Allison’s pink heart mirror in front of his face.

_ Two swipes upwards. Start from the base. Don’t put too much or it’ll clump. Easy. _

He curled the brush upwards, slowly, carefully-

The bed dipped with a weight next to him. He jerked his hand back, kicking his feet out to push the items off his bed. Ben only sat quietly amidst his chaos, absorbed in a book and curled up against Klaus’ sheets. He glanced fleetingly at Klaus, whose eyes were like a deer in headlights, then returned to his spot to read. 

Slowly, Klaus let his body relax. 

‘Makeup?’ Ben asked.

Klaus bit at his lip. ‘Yeah.’ 

Ben eyed him curiously, before smiling. ‘It’s pretty.’

Klaus held himself like that for a few more moments, like any moment it might all fall apart and shatter. But Ben just returned to his book, feet tucked cross legged next to Klaus. No screaming. No judgement. Just Ben.

His hand returned shakily to his other eye, trying to mimic the same stroke of the brush as before. They just shook too damn much for it to be steady, and it kept coming out uneven. Klaus huffed in frustration, and he threw down the tube in exasperation.

Ben raised an eyebrow at his sudden, dramatic outburst. ‘What happened?’ He asked.

Klaus rolled his eyes. ‘Allison’s don’t usually shake this much.’ He said, holding out his hands. They immediately began to tremble. Ben hummed thoughtfully.  _ He _ was supposed to be the smart one, the one with the good ideas. But Klaus knew that the only way to steady his hands was if he got his hands on some weed. Or got new hands.

Klaus perked up.

_ ‘Bennny _ .’ He batted his eyelashes. Ben groaned.

Moments later, Ben leaned over Klaus’ lap with the little tube perched between his fingers. His hands were steady, sure, but they were also  _ really _ fucking close to his eye, and Ben had no experience with make up. It was a dangerous, but critical, operation.

‘Stay still, Klaus. You’re fidgeting.’ Ben reprimanded, brows drawn in concentration. He went in for the eyeliner.

Klaus nearly screeched. ‘Fuck!  _ Ow _ , Ben!’ His palm came to rub at his eye, already starting to tear up, and  _ fuck _ that hurt. 

‘Sorry.’ Ben said plainly, a small smirk spreading across his lips. Little asshole.

Klaus shot him a dirty look, right eye squinting and watering, but he hoped that Ben still felt the guilt. 

‘Okay. Your turn!’ Klaus chirped, snatching the tube away from Ben. 

‘No, Klaus. You aren’t getting anywhere near me with that thing.’ 

‘Too late.’ He grinned, reaching out to grab Ben’s wrist. ‘Stay still.’

Ben opened his mouth, probably to complain, but closed it after a moment. His body relaxed under Klaus, apparently coming to accept the fact he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this.

Klaus was still annoyed that his hands still shook, but he focused on concentrating on Ben’s lashes. 

‘You have pretty eyes, Benny.’ He commented offhandedly. Ben smiled. 

After five more minutes, Klaus sat back on his heels to examine his work. He’d chosen orange and red and gold for the eyeshadow. Hopefully Allison wouldn’t miss those colours too much.

‘Is it done yet?’ Ben asked. His lashes blinked repeatedly, like something was stuck in his eye. Klaus tsked at him, because  _ obviously _ he was going to ruin the cut of his eyeliner.

‘Okay. Finished.’ Ben blinked into the mirror that Klaus held up for him.

‘It could use some work.’ Ben teased, smiling into the mirror. Klaus waved a dismissive hand, paired with a dramatic roll of the eyes. 

‘Shut it, Ben.’ He grinned.

-

‘Do you think it’s weird?’ Klaus asked, their backs pressed to each other’s under the sheets of Klaus’ bed. He couldn’t see Ben’s face, but he asked the question into the open air hoping for a response.

‘You’re gonna have to be more specific.’ Ben said, voice tired, but always awake. Klaus knew he had nightmares, that he couldn’t sleep.

‘The makeup.’ 

Ben snorted. ‘You’ve literally contemplated trying cocaine before, and you think I find a little makeup weird?’

Klaus shrugged, but internally his heart fluttered at the validation. ‘Diego and Luther are so, I don’t know. Manly. I’m just… I’m not like them.’ Klaus sighed, pressing his knees closer to his chest.

‘You don’t need to be like them.’ Ben noted. ‘You’re not Diego, or Luther, or Allison. You’re Klaus. And that’s okay.’ 

Klaus hoped Ben didn’t hear his sniffles.

‘Thanks, Ben.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not canon compliant bc I realized that klaus slipping in graces heels was when they were super young and they were supposed to be 15 here again but whatevs

* * *

‘This is one of your worse ideas.’

‘Shush, Ben.’

‘You  _ do _ know that if dad finds out, you’re—.’

Klaus cut him off with a crazed grin. ‘Relax, Ben. That’s the best part; he won’t!’ He waved his hands in the air, bracelets and rings dangling and clicking against his skin. 

His attention quickly left Ben, and returned to where he was rummaging through one of Mom’s storage closets, hands flicking through the racks of various outfits and uniforms for specific and important occasions. Ben and Klaus both knew that he was going to get his ass beat if he got caught. And if not from dad, then from Luther, and, inevitably, Ben would be dragged into the mess that he made.

Yet of course, Ben found himself lingering along his side when he’d found Klaus here, raiding his mother’s clothes and accessories and jewelry, really anything sparkly and flowy that caught his eye. 

Speaking of. ‘Oh! Oh,  _ Ben _ !’ Klaus practically screeched. ‘Look at  _ these _ .’

Ben couldn’t see whatever object it was that Klaus was holding, his lanky body bent over and obstructing his view. 

He rolled his eyes. ‘I can’t see, Klaus.’ Ben said, voice flat. His words went ignored, however, as Klaus bent his legs to seat himself onto the floor, body halfway sticking out into the hallway. Ben huffed in annoyance at how obvious he was making it.

Klaus stilled, sudden.  _ ‘Oh _ .’ He gasped.

Klaus began to stand on wobbly legs, calves shaking under the weight of his body, and losing his balance on the heel of… Grace’s shoes. Klaus squealed some ungodly sound of excitement, and Ben groaned with a roll of the eyes. Always so dramatic.

‘What do you think?’ Klaus chirped, whipping his body toward Ben. He stumbled a little where he stood, feet pushed into positions that Ben could only assume hurt. 

Ben sighed. ‘I  _ think _ that Dad is going to kill you if he sees you in those.’ Of course, Klaus wouldn’t listen. Instead he opted to ignore Ben, nothing new, and spun himself into circles in the hallways. Ben knew he’d wear himself out eventually.

-

Klaus did not wear himself out eventually.

‘Ready?!’ He called down the hall, echoing to where Ben sat cross legged on the floor while Klaus stood on the other end.

‘No, I’m not.’ Ben deadpanned. Klaus took it as an affirmative, and he began to strut down the hallway like it was some sort of catwalk. There was no one else in the house except Pogo and Grace, so thankfully the chances of Klaus getting caught and punished were low. 

Klaus yelped a little at the occasional twist of his ankle, but ultimately, made his way down the carpeted floors, stopping once he was towering over Ben. The heels that added a couple inches didn’t help.

‘So, Ben? How did I do?’ Klaus prodded. Ben decided he’d indulge him, just because he liked seeing Klaus smile. Liked seeing him distracted and happy and so different from the terror and misery that usually filled his eyes, only mingled with tears.

Ben’s lips quirked into a smile. ‘You did great, Klaus.’

The moment the words were said, Klaus positively  _ beamed _ . Ben grinned back.

‘Sooo, you think I could make it down the stairs?’

Ben’s grin immediately dropped. ‘Don’t you dare.’ 

A mischievous smile flashed over Klaus’ face. ‘Try and stop me.’ He snickered.

What happened after that was all in slow motion. Ben attempted to launch himself forward as Klaus’ heel slipped under his weight, his fragile limbs flailing down the stairway. He could almost feel The Horror prodding outwards, aching to reach out toward Klaus in his descent. Everything was too slow but too fast and over so quickly, and Ben was too late.

Ben sprinted down as quickly as he could to assess the damage. Klaus seemed to attempt a wail, before quickly shutting his mouth in pain. He whimpered and cried, and Ben hated seeing him in  _ pain _ , such a stark contrast from the unbridled joy from moments before.

He yelled for mom. 

-

His hand pet through Klaus’ dark curls, cheek pulled close to his chest. Klaus was almost double his size, but he was always so touchy, and Ben supposed he would appreciate the returned gesture.

He had been dismissed from the medical bay the day before, to Ben’s incessant worry, but he decided that Klaus couldn’t get into any more trouble if he just stuck around him. Klaus had made it clear that he was annoyed with the concern, even trying to convey that Ben was ‘overbearing.’ 

_ What did Klaus know, he’s the one who broke his jaw. _

‘Are you awake?’ Ben asked quietly, pulling away from Klaus, who gave a few slow blinks. He was still on some pretty heavy pain medicine, making him even spacier than normal.

Ben could see the moment that Klaus regretted trying to speak, and ended up whimpering in pain. A grimace spread across Ben’s face.

‘Okay, don’t talk.’ Ben sighed. ‘I do have something that will cheer you up.’ His eyes softened at the way Klaus perked up at the words. He made grabby hands to the little notepad and pen on his desk.

He pulled out a bag. Klaus eyed it curiously, and moved to dump the contents onto the bed. The next moment, Ben could practically hear the muffled scream through Klaus’ lips. He started to write.

_ DO MINE?  _

Ben almost snorted. ‘Last time I did your makeup, you accused me of attempted murder.’ Klaus rolled his eyes, but leaned forward to indicate his point.

He got to work.

**Author's Note:**

> idk if this will have more chapters
> 
> pls leave feedback if u liked it <3


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